Hello rockstars,

As usual, it’s been a busy few months. I know I say this all the time—so often that it’s probably losing meaning—but somehow, every time I say it, I am busier than the last time.

I saw a post on Instagram today that asked:

“On a scale of potatoes, how are you today?”

1. Suspiciously Calm Steak Fry
2. Cantankerous Tater Tot
3. Burnt-out Baked Potato
4. Overwhelmed Waffle Fry
5. Over-Caffeinated Curly Fry

How do I choose between #3, #4, and #5?? I think I’ll go with #3—final answer. Because lately, we’ve been girlbossing a little too close to the sun. (Get it? Sun… burnt-out? Hah. This is the kind of humor you get.)

But more seriously, I saw another post that said:

“Send this to a friend who is doing a really good job. Sometimes they just need to hear it.”

So naturally, I sent it to a bunch of my friends—because they are doing wonderfully. And one of these sweet friends of mine replied:

“Haha, I’m unemployed.”

That message made me so sad. First, to set the record straight—she’s not unemployed. She’s literally getting her master’s in education policy. She is, quite literally, changing the world.

Second, and more importantly, your employment status has nothing to do with whether you’re “doing a good job.” Our jobs should not be the only metric by which we measure success.

If we lived in a society where I made all the rules (not exactly tyranny—because that’s generally bad—but I digress), here’s what I’d say determines whether we’re doing a good job:

• How happy you are
• How fulfilled you feel in what you do
• Whether you wake up each day trying to be the best version of yourself
• Whether you’re kinder to yourself today than you were yesterday
• Whether you’re kind to others
• Whether you try to make the world a better place
• Whether you celebrate the little wins, especially on the hard days
• Whether you seek forgiveness when you mess up
• Whether you forgive yourself when you mess up
• Whether you’re patient when someone doesn’t know something you do
• Whether you stay calm outwardly, even if inwardly you want to scream or set something on fire
• Whether you’re confident in your abilities
• Whether you reflect on your growth and development
• Whether you check in with yourself about your happiness
• Whether you’re grateful for what you have

For work: Are you meeting deadlines, communicating, problem-solving, being productive, and producing quality work?

• How you handle constructive feedback

For self-care: Did you take care of yourself today? Did you move your body? Eat well? Meditate?

• Did you pause when you needed to rest?
• Do you surround yourself with good people?
• Are you pursuing your passions—in your career, as a hobby, or in your limited free time?
• Are you doing something you enjoy, something you’re good at, or something the world needs?
• Are you stepping out of your comfort zone?
• Are you living mindfully?
• Are you comfortable with who you are?
• Are you someone your loved ones can confide in?
• And my favorite: Are you trying to be your favorite self?

I think these things matter more than where we work.

Not all of these can be assessed daily—but maybe each day, we can check in on just a few:

• How am I doing? Did I drink water? Did I eat? Did I sleep okay? Did I move my body?
• Is there something I can do to calm me down if I’m not in a good place?
• Is there someone I can talk to about these things?

If you have other suggestions for daily check-ins, please share them below. And if you ever want to do these check-ins with a buddy, my inbox is always open.

Until next time!

xo

Sandhya

If you would like to celebrate my 30th year around the sun with me, then please click the follow or subscribe button! Feel free to connect with me through this platform, twitter, my coffee and checkins Instagram, my podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or Amazon Music, or email me at coffeeandcheckins@gmail.com! If you have any suggestions for topics or anything you’d like me to write/speak about, please let me know🙂❤